Starting in March 2025, millions of Social Security beneficiaries in the United States will experience changes to their payments due to the implementation of the Social Security Fairness Act and adjustments to overpayment recovery. These changes, which combine economic relief and fiscal control measures, generate expectations and concerns among millions of retirees, public workers and people with disabilities (and surviving family members, if applicable).
The Social Security Fairness Act, passed with bipartisan support, eliminates provisions known as WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) and GPO (Government Pension Offset), which reduced benefits to more than 3.2 million public sector retirees. These rules will reach federal employees such as teachers, firefighters, and police officers whose pensions did not contribute to the Social Security system. Retired private sector workers will not benefit, since the WEP and the GPO were never applied to them.
Larger Social Security payments after elimination of unfair withholdings
The repeal, retroactive to January 2024, forces the Social Security Administration (SSA) to settle late payments to those who were penalized. As of March 2025, more than $7.5 billion in compensation has been distributed to 1.1 million people, with average amounts that can be around $6,700, according to SSA data.
Acting Commissioner Lee Dudek highlighted the speed of implementation: “The aggressive schedule to issue retroactive payments from February and adjust monthly benefits from April reflects the priority of implementing this law quickly.” However, advocacy groups question the SSA’s ability to resolve pending cases without errors.
According to SSA figures, the maximum payment for a Social Security retirement amounts to $5,108 in 2025, while average payments are $1,976 (workers), $1,832 (survivors, elderly spouse), $3,761 (survivors, widowed mother/father with two children who qualify for the benefit), and $1,580 (disabled receiving SSDI).
Bad news for others: Social Security cuts are coming for some beneficiaries
Parallel to the compensations, the SSA will reinstate from March 27, 2025, the total withholding of benefits to recover overpayments, reversing the 10% limit established in 2024. This measure applies to retirees, survivors, and people with disabilities, and could leave some without temporary income.
This will apply to those beneficiaries who, by mistake, have ever (or several times) been deposited more money than they are entitled to, which is considered an “overpayment.” The SSA never considers this money lost, but rather recovers it through mechanisms like this one we are talking about.
The policy has generated alarm among legislators and organizations. They claim it will affect older and disabled adults who depend on Social Security as their primary income. “It is a dangerous regression that ignores the vulnerability of those who receive these payments,” said an AARP spokesperson in statements to local media.
The 100% withholding only applies to overpayments identified after March 27. Those with previous payment plans will maintain the 10% withholding. The SSA excludes the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program from this change, which will retain the 10% cap. The agency began sending postal notifications to inform those affected.
